This invention generally relates to combine harvesters and more particularly to an improved flexible belt conveyor for a draper pickup apron as may be used on windrow type farm machinery such as grain harvesters or combines.
There are many configurations of draper pickup aprons within the prior art and for each of these there are numerous other arrangements of apparatus for attaching the crop-gathering tines that are mounted on the pickup apron to carry the crop to the combine auger for baling and/or other processing. Most of these prior art conveyor configurations suffer from having a multiplicity of parts such as plates, brackets, fasteners, etc., that are used to fasten the tines to the flexible apron. In this circumstance, and upon breakage or loss of various of the tines and/or fasteners during the harvesting operation, down-time of these machines for replacement of the broken or lost parts is a costly proposition as the harvest must be completed within a specific period of time. Furthermore, these complex configurations of multiple parts offer more projections on the apron that cause hanging up of the grain stalks, vines, etc., which become entangled on the conveyor and must be periodically and manually removed.
In view of these and other problems associated with present draper type combine harvesters, an object of this invention is to provide a flexible belt conveyor that eliminates a multiplicity of fasteners and the like and provides a simple mechanism for attaching and detaching crop-gathering tines.
A further object of the invention is to provide a pickup belt for a combine harvester that offers simple maintenance and easy field removal of individual belts and/or replacement of broken or lost tines.
These objects and other objects and advantages are accomplished in a flexible endless conveyor for a harvester pickup apron comprising in combination: an elastomeric belt having a reinforced base and a plurality of molded-on elastomeric cleats, raised from the surface of the base and oriented in a plurality of rows across the width of the belt for the full length of the belt with adjacent cleats of a row interrupted by a space and an opening in the base of the belt in the area defined by the space between adjacent cleats, each of said cleats having a molded-through bore having an axis parallel to the base of the belt, the bore axes of cleats in a row being commonly aligned in a direction substantially orthogonal to the lengthwise direction of the belt; a rod mounted in each of the rows within the bores of the cleats in a row; and a plurality of flexible tines mounted on the rods within the openings in the base of the belt between adjacent cleats of a row.